


Something

by queen_scribbles



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: Deadfire Spoilers, Gen, friendship fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 15:59:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14937419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_scribbles/pseuds/queen_scribbles
Summary: For @pillarspromptsweekly #40: First Impressions. Since this is a Deadfire prompt, there are minor spoilers. But if you’re finished with Port Maje, you’re fine ;)





	Something

**Author's Note:**

> For @pillarspromptsweekly #40: First Impressions. Since this is a Deadfire prompt, there are minor spoilers. But if you’re finished with Port Maje, you’re fine ;)

At least the gods had given her _something_. 

And as consolations went for one of their number gouging out a chunk of her soul and hightailing to her least favorite part of Eora, Emiri had to admit this was probably about the best something they could have done. Wonderful as it had been to find Edér keeping her company when she first awoke on the _Defiant_ , much as she appreciated having him to watch her back now, it was nothing compared to her pure _elation_ upon recognizing a certain dark haired elf among the animancers she rescued at the Engwithan digsite.

She barely managed to bite back her smile and play along long enough to get out of sight in the ruins before dragging Aloth into an enthusiastic hug. “I’m so glad you’re alright!” She glanced at the scar on his forehead, winced slightly, and amended, “Mostly alright. Why didn’t you write? You said you were going to write.”

“When I could,” Aloth reminded with a smile, returning the hug before gently easing himself from her embrace.

“It’s been three years, Aloth,” Emiri said, looking him over and noting a couple more scars. “Three years since your last letter. I didn’t even know if you were _alive_ -”

“I am sorry about that, truly, but things... haven’t been easy, Emiri.” He ran his fingers through his hair and fiddled with a very famliar--and somewhat worse for wear--woven bracelet.

“I can tell,” she said quietly. “And I can wait until we’re off this island to hear the full story, if you wish, but... three _years_. I worried about you every time you crossed my mind,” she admitted. “I didn’t need a full accounting of all you’d been up to, but _something_ would have been nice. Even just  _‘I’m alive_ ’ would have sufficed.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for the future,” Aloth promised with a faint smile. “I didn’t mean to worry you. I truly am sorry about that.”

“Apology accepted,” Emiri nodded easily. “But if you think I’m letting you hare off to chase... you know who without my help any time soon, well, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

He shot her an amused look. “Don’t you have your own business in the Deadfire? And I assume it’s important, I know how badly you didn’t want to see this place ever again.”

“Well, yes, but,” she shrugged, “I can hunt a rogue god and help you chase an ancient, mysterious organization at the same time.”

Aloth’s eyebrows rose. “Rogue god? How _do_ these things keep happening to you?”

“Wish I knew,” she laughed, and gave him the short version of the events that brought her to the Deadfire. When she finished, Aloth gave her an appraising look.

“Aside from the obvious, then, are you alright?” he asked, concern in his eyes.

Emiri sighed and glanced to where Edér and Xoti were examining a row of Engwithan statues across the room. “I think so. Having Edér there soon as I woke was good. Familiar face and all that. And stumbling across my best friend certainly helps,” she joked. “If I had to be shipwrecked somewhere, at least it’s the same island you’re on, so I know the company will be good.” 

Aloth smirked at the humor in her voice. “I’ve missed you, too,” he said, running his hands over the front of his armor. “Perhaps we should finish up here and talk more on your ship? Away from prying ears, where we can go into more detail?”

She nodded. “You’re right. Sooner we’re off this island the better.”

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

It didn’t take long to accomplish their purpose in the ruins, though Emiri had hoped for a better outcome, and the... vision of Eothas left her disoriented and confused. She was quiet as they left the digsite and headed back to Port Maje, and she stayed quiet when it became apparent they would have to make camp for the night and finish their journey in the morning. She knew Aloth and Edér both noticed, but neither said anything. They knew her well enough to give her time. Xoti asked if she was alright once, seemed to pick up on Emiri’s distraction as she nodded and gave her space as well.

They made camp, ate dinner, figured out the watch schedule, and then Emiri crawled into bed and tried to get to sleep. It took her halfway into Xoti’s watch to succeed, and she got a few blessedly restful hours before the nightmares started.

 **-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

_Raging waters, pouring rain, she stood alone on the deck of the_ Defiant _as ocean and sky alike rebelled around her. The small sloop pitched in the waves’ embrace, making it a struggled to keep her balance._

 _Lightning flashed, and she caught a glimpse of something straight ahead. Another flash and she could tell it was Eothas. She could also tell the_ Defiant _was approaching him at near-supernatural speeds. He saw her coming, the Watcher of Caed Nua on her tiny boat, and stood his ground. “_ Something beautiful is coming _” echoed inside her skull as the_ Defiant _plowed into Eothas’ leg and shattered into a thousand pieces._

_She was flung into the still-raging sea, tossed by tumbling waves until she no longer knew which direction to swim, sinking, sinking, sink-_

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

Emiri snapped awake with a gasp, her grip momentarily tightening on her blankets as she reoriented herself. _Just a dream. You can breathe, you’re not drowning, it was just a_ dream _, Emiri._  

Still, with her heart pounding and thoughts racing, she wouldn’t be getting back to sleep any time soon. Sighing in resignation, she pushed aside the blankets and got up, shuffling barefoot out of the tent. She was mildly surprised to find she’d slept through all of Xoti’s watch; it hadn’t felt like nearly that long. It _was_ refreshing change, Emiri conceded as she looked up at the stars. Considering how little sleep she’d gotten hunting for Thaos, a few run of the mill nightmares weren’t so bad. She returned her gaze to the campsite and carefully picked her way across to the boulder where Aloth perched. His grimoire was open in his lap, but he was clearly not so engrossed as to ignore his surroundings, given the concerned look he shot her well before she reached him.

“Nightmares again?” he asked, closing the grimoire and setting it aside.

Emiri nodded as she sat on the ground next to his boulder, making them more or less eye level. “But just the normal kind, that most kith have time to time. Bad experiences reenacting themselves with a twist.”

Aloth winced and made a sympathetic noise. “You have plenty of those to draw from.”

“Didn’t have to go too far back for this,” she sighed, playing with a blade of grass. “We... we wound up on this island because we shipwrecked during the storm.”

“Ah.” He alone, of all her friends, knew enough to fully understand the implications. He tentatively reached for her hand. “Emiri...”

“It’s not Watcher’s dreams,” Emiri said with a shrug. “That’s something, at least.”

“It is,” Aloth agreed.  “It was... not pleasant to watch you go through that.” He squeezed her hand briefly before letting go. “It’s something of a relief to know that won’t be a concern this time.”

“You have _no_ idea,” she laughed, though it shook slightly, running her fingers through her hair. They grazed the closely broken stump at the base of her skull and Emiri winced at the sharp lance of pain. 

Aloth caught the flickered expression and concern creased his brow once more.  “I wasn’t going to ask, but what happened?” He nodded toward her head and distinct lack of the halo-like growth that formerly circled it.

She gingerly touched the healing area again as she admitted, “I don’t remember. It was somewhere in the process of Eothas ripping his way out from under Caed Nua, but all of that’s a bit of a blur. Edér told me it was actually kind of jagged at first. They had to file it down.” She snorted softly. “Fortunately, Berath was having a heart to heart chat with my soul just then, so I missed that part. No idea if it hurt or how much.”

“Emiri, that’s...”

“It is what it is,” Emiri shrugged. “I can’t make it grow back with wishing. I just have deal with it. Now, your turn, Master Corfiser.  Where’d this come from?” She ran a couple fingers lightly along the burn scar that arced over his elbow.

Aloth was quiet for a long moment before answering. “A former apprentice of Concelhaut’s happened to have fallen in with one of the, ah, sects I was trying to dismantle. He was not amenable to the concept of peaceful surrender and... forced the issue to violence.”

“ _ **Aloth**_.”

“You don’t need to look at me like that, Emiri,” he said with half a smile. “I handled it. And, as you can see, do still number among the living.”

Emiri bit her lip. Something about his tone made her think it had been a closer call than he was letting on. But she didn’t press. She’d worried enough about him _without_ details, getting them might make her overprotective. “Which I am eternally grateful for. Are you finally going to stop protesting when I tell people you’re an exceptionally talented wizard?”

“Probably not,” Aloth admitted, his smile spreading. “For one thing, I know you’re biased-”

“Doesn’t make me _wrong_ ,” she grinned cheekily.

“-and there are also many better than I,” he continued.

“Aloth, someone being better at something than you doesn’t negate your own skill at it,” she pointed out. “You faced down someone trained by one of the greatest wizards of our generation--your words--and won. That’s pretty damn impressive. Let me brag on you a little. It’s what friends are for.”

He chuckled wryly. “Just a little. If it’s what friends are for.” Silence fell between them and stretched comfortably for a few minutes before he acknowledged, softly, “I have missed you. Quite a lot. I know there were good reasons you couldn’t come along, from both sides, but your company would have been welcome.”

“Until word of a near-seven foot tall woman whose head glows preceding the disbanding of their sects forced your targets even further underground,” Emiri said glibly. “My being along would have made your goal harder, not easier, which was part of why I didn’t come with you in the first place. I missed you, too, but that was the right call.” She smiled. “And you have my company now.” A yawn followed the words. “Though apparently I’m calmed down enough to go back to bed now and maybe get some sleep. One benefit to losing the halo; I can actually sleep on my back now, which is nice.”

“Small favors,” Aloth snorted, absently spinning one of his rings.

Emiri shrugged as she pushed to her feet. “I’m serving at a god’s behest to chase down another god who reincarnated and stole part of my soul before running off to the one place in the world that’s chock full of my worst memories, with an uncertain future ahead of me.  I’ll take what I can get. Not one, but two, old friends at my side to help is a great start. As is more sleep.”

He chuckled. “I’ll see you in the morning, then.”

“Yes,” she grinned. “You will.”

Her heart lightened by his company and conversation both, Emiri headed back to her tent. No one would blame her for collapsing under the weight of the trials and mission currently burdening her, she knew that. But she hadn’t survived this long by letting bad things get to her, no matter how crushing they might seem. Sure, she was missing a chunk of her soul, and chasing Eothas, and Berath hadn’t seemed particularly _patient_ in regards to results, but she had her best friend with her once more.

And that, she reflected, was _more_ than something.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Yep, Emiri’s halo is gone. They didn’t keep that head model for Deadfire, so I had to improvise. No, there’s no intentional symbolism in her losing it, like she’s still her benevolent, honest, sweet self(somehow, poor girl’s been through the wringer), this isn’t a “No more Ms. Nice Guy” thing :P


End file.
